“Tonewood” comparison, Rosewood vs Ebony fretboard sound clips.

[Manton Customs]

41 minutes ago, Oopsdabassist said:

Thats weird, the rosewood looks darker than the ebony to me, I couldn't get it right by sound...and now it seems I cant get it right by sight either!!

 

Either way I much prefer the darker looking fretboards over maple

:)...Just the lighting of the photos, the Ebony has direct sunlight on it and is buffed to a high sheen so it's reflecting back a bit. The Rosewood pic was taken on a much greyer day, so looks a bit darker than it is.

[Hellzero]

Thanks for the pictures.

There are three other biases, one bass is lacquered, one has chrome hardware, one has no headstock shown : try this with audiophiles and they'll become some kind of aggressive... Trust me.

The other point that is bothering me is that your rosewood looks way much denser than your ebony which seems to be close to sapwood, the grain being correct... Strange.

You know like me that some rosewoods are denser than some ebonies. Is it the case here ?

Is there a shim under the necks ?

Did you screw everything with a torque reader screwdriver ?

Is the trussrod more tightened on the rosewood fretboard.

All these details can change the sound, you know it.

It started from a good point, but there are too many unscientific approaches...

These were not identical twins differing only by the fretboard as they were supposed to be.

Anyway, it's been very interesting.

 

 

[tom5string]

Ha, found it! How can we compare chromed and black bridges????

;-)

Nice test, astonishing result. I could swear ... but was proven wrong.

 

[Oopsdabassist]

1 hour ago, mcnach said:

 

heathen!

Ha..thought that would wake someone up!!

[Manton Customs]

1 minute ago, Hellzero said:

Thanks for the pictures.

There are three other biases, one bass is lacquered, one has chrome hardware, one has no headstock shown : try this with audiophiles and they'll become some kind of aggressive... Trust me.

The other point that is bothering me is that your rosewood looks way much denser than your ebony which seems to be close to sapwood, the grain being correct... Strange.

You know like me that some rosewoods are denser than some ebonies. Is it the case here ?

Is there a shim under the necks ?

Did you screw everything with a torque reader screwdriver ?

Is the trussrod more tightened on the rosewood fretboard.

All these details can change the sound, you know it.

It started from a good point, but there are too many unscientific approaches...

These were not identical twins differing only by the fretboard as they were supposed to be.

Anyway, it's been very interesting.

 

 

As explained in my previous post there is too much exposure on the Ebony fingerboard picture, it is in fact as black as Ebony gets. Both basses are lacquered, not sure why you'd think otherwise, unless you're actually suggesting that the colour can affect the tone. If that's what you're getting at - the black bass was dyed rather than having colour coats sprayed, so there is no additional finish thickness.

Not having a pic of the headstock is an odd observation, they are on my website but I'm not allowed to direct people there, so have tried to avoid doing so. Sorry I can only laugh at black v.s chrome hardware and I'd be happy to do so in the face of an "aggressive audiophile" too

You can not tell the density of a piece of wood by looking at a pic like this and darker does not mean denser. This is Indian Rosewood, the most common species used for instruments and well below Ebony in density, stiffness and Janka hardness. The Ebony is certainly not sapwood. Both pieces are rated as AAA grade by the suppliers due to their colour. I've included another pic at the end of this post of the headstock where you can see the Ebony and how the light is over exposing the pic in places. 

There are no shims in either neck pocket, I would count that as a failure if I built a bass which required shimming from day one. As said before both necks are cut from the same board and the same dimensions, so they are both under the same stress and required the same amount of truss rod adjustment.

No, I didn't use a torque reader, one generally doesn't when screwing into wood.

So I really don't think you have noticed any additional variables, apart from the Chrome hardware thing....lol

[police squad]

@Manton Customs

I fear you're on a hiding to nothing here. Many people (IMO) overthink all this stuff. Some people think it's all to do with the pickups and electronics.

I was at home playing my telecaster and my brother turned up. He picked up the tele, strummed a chord and said 'Ash'. I knew it was Ash. So did he, by the sound.

A Maple board Strat is a more glassy sound than a r/wood board. It's true but some people will deny it has anything to do with the wood.

Still, it was a great demo and I was wrong in my analysis but I haven't had an ebony boarded precision with an alder body to compare with my other P basses

[Hellzero]

@Manton Customs The most important in here is this simple question : Are your clients happy with their basses ?

That's all !

And I like your work, that said. 

[Grangur]

4 hours ago, mcnach said:

 

heathen!

Cheapskate!

(Maple was only chosen originally because, in the USA, it's cheap)